Overview & Reviews

A relative newcomer to the American marketplace, Hyundai is a Korean automaker with a product line that has improved greatly over the past decade. Hyundai cars and SUVs provide a high level of content for an affordable price, and are currently backed by one of the industry's longest warranties.

In 1947, Chung Ju Yung founded the Hyundai Civil Engineering Company. Mere months later, the outfit was bombed in the Korean War. However, the company regained its footing to distinguish itself as one of Korea's leading construction enterprises during the 1950s.

By the late 1960s, Chung had turned his attention to the automobile industry. The Korean government at that time believed that it made more sense to import vehicles than produce them domestically, and had made its opinion known. Still, Chung opted to follow his own convictions, and in 1967, he founded the Hyundai Motor Company.

The company quickly established an alliance with one of the industry's oldest automakers, signing a two-year contract with Ford in 1968 to share assembly technology. Hyundai's first car, the Cortina, was created from that partnership. The manufacturer's first car to be designed and built in Korea was the compact Pony (although the car was based on Japanese technology courtesy of Mitsubishi). The vehicle made its debut in 1974, and the following year Hyundai began exporting it to overseas markets.

Hyundai entered the U.S. market in 1986 with the introduction of its subcompact Excel. The car was an immediate hit, with its supreme affordability being a primary selling point. More than 100,000 Excels were sold stateside in the first seven months. By 1988, Hyundai had begun to produce cars using its own technology. The midsize Sonata was the first fruit borne of this endeavor.

Unfortunately, Hyundai's nascent image was soon tarnished by the poor durability and reliability of its vehicles. Sales tanked. However, rather than abandon the American market in the '90s, Hyundai chose to invest heavily in new product designs and improvements in overall quality and reliability. In 1998, Hyundai also purchased Kia, another Korean automaker, to expand its business and economies of scale.

It all started to pay off by the start of the new millennium, with the 2001 Elantra in particular showing massive improvements in overall quality, reliability and performance. Other models followed suit and the desirability of Hyundai cars increased sharply. Providing an extraordinarily long warranty period didn't hurt either.

Today's lineup is indicative of Hyundai's complete turnaround. Hyundai has a vehicle for nearly every segment, including the economical Accent subcompact, the popular Elantra compact, the midsize Sonata sedan (also available as a hybrid), sporty Genesis and Veloster coupes and a couple of stylish SUVs. Hyundai has also expanded into the entry-level and premium-level luxury sedan markets with its Genesis and Equus sedans. Having gone from being the butt of late-night TV jokes in the 1980s to a well-respected manufacturer of quality vehicles, Hyundai has created a very inspiring rags-to-riches story.

User Reviews:

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  A great car! - 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Tom Marshall - July 8 - 8:06 pm

  I bought this car partly because of the excellent 10 yr/100,000 mile warranty, because the reviews were saying Hyundai had solved quality issues, and the price was right! The main issue for me from day one has been rear visibility, and a problem with the headlights burning out periodically (a minor problem, and replacement was free of course). In sum, I love this car, and am very, very likely to return to Hyundai for my next car! This car new, & loaded, was $14,000! I occasionally research the market for new cars and based on value, quality, and features, repeatedly find Hyundai is best!

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  Koreans top the game - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By AeL - July 8 - 6:00 pm

  Bought a 2005 Sonata V6 with everything on it. Loved the car, but needed a CUV for occupation. Mileage on the 2007 Santa Fe SE was miserable. Enough that I decided I wasnt a CUV/SUV person after all. Great CUV, tho, especially for the money. Recently decided I should start looking at sedans once again to get out from under the poor mileage. Took one look at the 2011 Sonata and was hooked just from the exterior styling. I wasnt worried about reliability or safety, since weve owned 4 other Hyundais. What a terrific car for the price, or even for thousands MORE!!! Im still trying to get used to ALL the features on this car and the ride is quiet, punchy and terrific!

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  Wow what an amazing car! - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By AnaBean321 - July 8 - 2:22 pm

  I was always one to stick with domestics like chevy, saturn, and pontiac...But after buying my new black with tan leather seats Elantra Limited, I am a true believer now. On top of the insane warrantee, the car comes fully loaded with all the fun features and 6 airbargs plus a 5 STAR crash test rating. The ride is very smooth and the engine is really quiet. There is hardly any road noise, at least when compared to the civic and corolla, and the interior looks and feels high quality. The stereo is my favorite part because it sounds like Im inside of a mini-club when Im driving home from work. And according to the thing next to the speedometer, Im averaging 34.5 MPG and thats always nice!

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  Very Good Vehicle For The Money - 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Dick Smith - July 8 - 11:00 am

  We bought this 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe after a lot of looking at various SUVs. Our first choice was the Highlander, but they are very high priced. We ended up with the Santa Fe because it was a lot of vehicle for the money. About $5,000 cheaper than a comparable Highlander. We are very satisfied with it. It is a very nice vehicle in all aspects. We would highly recommend it to anyone.

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  2010 Sante Fe has issues - 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By wex519 - July 8 - 10:00 am

  Nice vehicle overall was my first impression since I was seeking a larger similar to previous crossover. I was wrong. Transmission bangs at low speeds and dealer wont acknowledge a problem. It is well documented and Hyundai must step up or count me out.

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  Love my Hyundai - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Dutchman - July 8 - 6:50 am

  Really fun to drive! Handles great in our Rocky Mountains, even in sever weather. Snow and ice is no problem and vehicle is extremly stable an easy to control. Shiftronic gear selection is great, used a lot in the mountains.

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  Incredible driving experience - 2007 Hyundai Entourage
  By Rob22315 - July 7 - 9:12 pm

  Smooth ride, power to spare, comfortable to drive and ride, and great features. All that for a couple thousand less than the market leaders. Buy one this year or the next - I expect Hyundai will get popular and raise their prices accordingly. Gets reasonable gas mileage if you lay off the gas pedal. Only tip - check the tire pressure after you get your vehicle, one of mine was low. RG

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  Great Car for the Money - 2005 Hyundai TUCSON
  By JimandMaryC - July 7 - 8:10 pm

  Our dealership bent over backwards to help us find the perfect vehicle. As soon as I got in our Tucson, I knew that it was the one. Its great on gas and peppy. Its comfortable. Plus its got great little extras, such as hooks in the cargo department to latch grocery bags onto so they dont slide! We are so happy with it.

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  Hyundai tried but Missed - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By RogerThat - July 7 - 5:56 pm

  Hyundai was so eager to make a car to compete with other high class affordable sedans, that they actually missed the main point, reliability and good leadership, i was on my way to work and as i tried to switch to drive the brakes got locked, i could do nothing but call hyundai and they were very rude, i sent it back and got my dream car, the nissan maxima

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  Engine Failure - 2012 Hyundai Sonata
  By Knight - July 7 - 2:45 pm

  I had an engine failure with about 17,000 miles on the car. The engine was replaced, but was not the same car. Competitively priced vehicle, but my experience with Hyundai, dealer services and customer service has been two stars or less. Everybody has different experiences with vehicles, for Hyundai, mine could have been better.